updated 11:23 am EST, Thu February 20, 2014

Samsung, LG make gains regardless

Of the 121 million smartphones sold in the US during 2013, Apple took home a 45 percent share, according to new NPD Group data. That represents a growth of 1 point annually. Samsung advanced two points though to a 26 percent share, while LG gained 3 points, moving up to 8 percent. HTC and Motorola both saw declines; the former from 10 to 6 percent, and the latter from 7 percent to 4.

The Apple iPhone proved most popular among people making more than $100,000 a year, who accounted for 33 percent of the iPhone market. 24 percent made between $60,000 and $100,000, and 23 percent earned between $30,000 and $60,000. The remaining 20 percent of iPhones went to people with income under $30,000. NPD notes, though, that that figure was still 64 percent higher than in 2012.

Class distribution was reversed in the case of Samsung, which saw 35 percent of its phones going to people with salaries under $30,000, and just 18 percent to people over the $100,000 mark. 27 percent reached people between $30,000-$60,000, and 20 percent went to the $60,000-$100,000 demographic. Unlike Apple, which has just three iPhone models, Samsung sells a wide variety of devices targeted at different budgets.

Post-paid phones took home 71 percent of the US market last year, growing less than 10 percent. The prepaid market by contrast surged ahead 68 percent, achieving a 29 percent share. That may have been influenced strongly by the rise of T-Mobile, which made aggressive changes to its business in a bid to lure customers away from AT&T and Verizon.